Denmark to have 1st woman prime minister

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- The center-left won Denmark's parliamentary election Thursday, putting Social Democrat Helle Thorning-Schmidt in line to be the first woman prime minister.

The margin of victory was small, The New York Times reported. Counts late Thursday gave Thorning-Schmidt's coalition 89 of 179 parliamentary seats, while the center-right group led by Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen had 86 and seemed likely to win at least one more.

Thorning-Schmidt appeared happy to have ended center-right rule after 10 years.

"We've written history today," she said about 3 hours after polls closed.

The major issue in the election was how to deal with Denmark's national debt and budget deficit.

Thorning-Schmidt advocated increasing taxes on the financial industry and high-income Danes and expanding government benefits, although she also said the deficit needs to be dealt with. Rasmussen called for spending cuts and said increasing taxes would hamper economic growth.